House Committee Approves Legislation for Michigan Harbors and Stopping Asian Carp

Today, the House Appropriations Committee approved legislation funding the Army Corps of Engineers for the 2019 federal budget year. The legislation authorizes the Army Corps to use $1.6 billion from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund to dredge harbors and maintain breakwalls.

The legislation also instructs the Army Corps to present quarterly briefings to Congress on efforts to stop Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam near Chicago.

Congressman John Moolenaar is a member of the House Appropriations Committee. He supported the legislation and made the following statement:

"Funding from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund will help keep our harbors open for business and support jobs in mid and northern Michigan, especially in tourism, boating and fishing.

"We also need to make sure the Army Corps finishes its study on preventing Asian carp from entering Lake Michigan. Keeping invasive species out of the Great Lakes will help protect Michigan's economy and our way of life. Michiganders have made their views known to the Army Corps through the public comment process. The Corps should strongly consider those views and finish its recommendations for protecting the Great Lakes."